Sundries & Curiosities for the Adventurous. A Tribal Inquiry.

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the peace that drifts

We simply observe the movements of the conditions within our own mind. We can see, as we observe feeling arise upon an experience, that the experience is simply an experience- nothing more. With the condition of feeling in and of itself, there’s still no “I.” There’s just inclination, a slight predilection to lean a certain way. Although it’s elusive, we can increase our mindfulness of the conditioning influence of feeling. None of this is personal. None of this is who we are. This is ignorance, an utterly impersonal dynamic, at work. We want to invite inquiry into that ignorance; we want to invite grace. ~Kathleen Dowling Singh

You must look at yourself and determine that from now on pain is not a problem. It is just a thing in the universe. Most people can hardly imagine what it would be like to be at peace with inner disturbance. But if you do not learn to be comfortable with it, you will devote your life to avoiding it. If you feel insecurity, it’s just a feeling. You can handle a feeling. Laugh at it, have fun with it, but don’t be afraid of it. It cannot touch you unless you touch it. Once you close, your mind will build an entire psychological structure around your closed energy. If you buy into this, it will become a part of you. You will never be free, however, until you get to the point where you are willing to release the initial pain instead of avoiding it. You must learn to transcend the tendency to avoid the pain. ~Michael Singer